2025 Gold Design or Art Direction

Agency: Wonderhood Studios

Client: Soho Parish C of E Primary School

Entry Name: Making the invisible, visible

Executive Summary

Soho Parish C of E Primary School is no ordinary school. It’s a magical place where children take music lessons at Ronnie Scott’s, visit the National Gallery for art and hold sports day in Regent’s Park. But post-Covid, with fewer commuters returning to offices, pupil numbers dropped sharply, and with them, funding.

Strategy

The most powerful data comes from the people who live it. It was important not just to deliver to help the school, but to be considered in how the answer was designed.

In a creative workshop, children were invited to share what they loved most about their school and what should be told to the world. Their ideas weren’t just charming, they were insightful.

The strategy became clear: turn the uniqueness of this educational experience into an identity that could stand up and shout in the middle of Soho. There were three strategic pillars: inform creative with the children’s own words, build a joyful identity, and involve the kids with interactive tools.

The campaign also activated donated media placements and built a buzz that caught the attention of both families and the press, culminating in TV news coverage.

Creativity

From the workshop data, the team distilled a series of icons, each one representing something the children loved. A music note for jazz. A paint splash for art. A croissant for the local café that hands out pastries.

Each icon became part of a flexible, joyful design system, a modular logo that could grow, change and adapt. The new identity wasn’t a single mark, but a whole alphabet of symbols. It reflected the culture of the school, the richness of the curriculum and the vibrancy of its location.

The exterior of the school was transformed into an outdoor gallery, with bespoke posters featuring the icons and the new line: ‘There's only one Soho School.’ The team also created a digital logo generator, allowing every pupil to create their own version of the identity, an act of design, but also of ownership.

Results

Pupil numbers increased, reversing a sharp decline, from 99 to 113: a 14% uplift that provided crucial funding and security. Open day visits rose by 55% compared to the previous year. Multiple parents cited seeing the posters or hearing about it on the news as the reason they booked. Nursery admissions reached full capacity, with a waiting list of three and an additional staff member employed to support the growing demand.

The campaign featured on UK national TV news, as well as in local and educational press, amplifying reach well beyond Soho. Children took pride in seeing their ideas on walls, websites and windows: 80% of pupils created and shared designs.

Contributors

Global Media - Tim Ashton, Antidote - Graham Bednash, Unstuck

The Team

Simon Elvins, Co-Founder and Head of Design, Wonderhood Studios - Roy Barker. Co-Founder and Creative & Design Operations Director. Wonderhood Studios - Lara Masojada, Creative Project Manager, Wonderhood Studios - Kat Wozniack, Senior Designer, Wonderhood Studios - Saskia Vokes, Designer, Wonderhood Studios - Lucja Wroblewska, Designer, Wonderhood Studios - Yulu Chen, Designer, Wonderhood Studios - Tom Pounder, Motion Designer, Wonderhood Studios - Rob Peart, Creative Technologist, Testbed Studio - Jessica Lovell, Chief Strategy Officer, Wonderhood Studios - Jennifer Ashton, Creative Team, Wonderhood Studios - Oliver Short, Creative Team, Wonderhood Studio - Tad Buxton, Creative Team, Wonderhood Studios - India Penny, Creative Team, Wonderhood Studios - Aidan McClure, Chief Creative Officer, Wonderhood Studios - Alix Ascough, Executive Headteacher, Soho Parish CofE Primary School